Everything Breaks Sometimes
by christmasinacup
Summary: It's storming in Virginia, and Joan seeks comfort in Auggie as she repairs herself from yet another fight with Arthur... but while the rain pours and the power flickers on and off, a event makes Joan realize that nothing is worth giving up on, not even when it seems easier. Eventual Arthur x Joan.


I wanted to explore the Auggie/Joan friendship… the writers leave a lot of blanks to fill, so I've filled them in my mind. I've always imagined that these two have always been close, since before Auggie had his accident. Hope you all enjoy this!

* * *

Auggie held a coffee mug in each hand, guiding himself around the couch slowly. He handed one of the mugs to Joan and smiled kindly.

"Thanks," Joan said softly, taking the mug from Auggie with one hand and taking his arm with the other, guiding him down to the couch. Joan took a sip of her coffee and sighed.

"What?," Auggie asked, worry in his warm brown eyes. Joan shook her head.

"Nothing," Joan said quietly. She took another sip.

But everything was wrong. Arthur and Joan were on thin ice, thinner than ever before. They had been fighting since Annie ran off to Russia. Now she was safe and sound, in Jerusalem with Eyal, and Arthur and Joan hadn't spoken in a week. Joan had been staying at Auggie's place, too afraid to face another silent moment with her husband.

So, sitting on Auggie's couch, in a Penn t-shirt and an old pair of his boxers, Joan was a mess. She didn't know how to fix her problems, and the only thing that felt familiar was her job. She still kicked ass, even when she was torn apart inside. It was one of her skills.

"Joan, I know everything is complicated right now, but please, don't pretend you're okay if you're not," Auggie said, feeling for her hand. She let him find it himself, then squeezed his hand, not wanting to let go.

"We've disagreed before, but never like this. Auggie, I gave him a letter of resignation."

"That he hasn't responded to yet."

Joan frowned. "Which either means he still loves me, or he doesn't."

Auggie chuckled. "Or that he is just as confused as you are."

"You don't see how he looks at me when he sees me. His blue eyes turn to steel, and I actually feel chills."

"Joan," Auggie said soothingly. "Please, don't do this. Everything bends, that doesn't mean it has to break."

"But if something bends enough, it can snap in just a second," Joan whispered. She couldn't admit that she was scared, so she put up a wall. She leaned in to hug him. "I'm going to put on some sweats and go for a run."

"Joan, it's pouring. The reason we aren't going in this morning is because of this storm. Cars piling up on the freeway, major accidents, possible blackouts… from what I've heard from people who got to work before it hit, it's only going to get worse."

Joan stood up. "It's just a little rain, Auggie. I'll be back before it gets worse."

She wouldn't admit it, but she was scared Arthur was trapped under a car in one of the major accidents, or at home, all alone. She dressed in yoga pants, sneakers, a long-sleeve workout top, and a hoodie. She stuffed her iPhone and headphones into her pocket, then made her way through the apartment, pulling her hair into a ponytail.

"Auggie, I'll be back soon," she said, placing her hand on his shoulder. He nodded.

"Be careful."

When Joan opened the door to leave the lobby of Auggie's building to find it storming like a bitch. She clenched her teeth and took off towards the park 2 blocks away. When she reached her destination, she crawled under the play structure, where there were a few dry spots. She crouched into a ball, teeth chattering, and pulled out her cell phone.

After staring at the screen for a few minutes, she dialed the number from memory. It rang for what seemed like years before he picked up.

"Arthur?" Her voice sounded weak.

"Joan."

"I- I just wanted to make sure you were okay," she whispered, trying to stop her teeth from clanging together. "Are you at home?"

"No, work. Got here a few hours ago."

Silence fell over the line, and it stayed that way for a few minutes. Finally, Arthur cleared his throat.

"Where are you?"

"Um… at Auggie's," she lied. The last thing she needed was for him to yell at her about how irresponsible she was. Even though him getting angry would mean he still cared, she wasn't in the mood to dig her grave even deeper.

"Bull."

She cringed. No matter how good she was at deception, Arthur was better. He could see right through almost any lie, especially a pathetic one like the one she just fed him.

"I'm under the slide at Grant Park."

"Joan…."

She didn't respond at first, but he became so quiet she was afraid he'd hang up.

"I needed some space."

"Well, that's cruel. You left a blind man alone when the city's on the verge of a blackout."

Joan was stunned. She laughed weakly, surprised her shock didn't restrict her from speaking.

"Um, yeah. I didn't think of that."

"I mean, since he can't see, how will he know the power's out? He might start to panic when his phone isn't working and he can't call you."

Joan was confused. Why was Arthur joking around? And why did it sound like Auggie was her child, or her dog, or her boyfriend? Was he jealous? But she powered through the awkwardness.

"Maybe I should get back…"

"Mhhmm," Arthur said. More silence.

"Arthur, I'm sorry," Joan blurted. She wished she could take it back the second she said it, because this wasn't how she wanted to talk to him. Not under a slide, in the pouring rain, over the phone.

"Joan… I want to talk to you, but not like this. But I'm sorry, too. We both need to get better at compromising, but I don't want to do it from different parts of Virginia."

Joan smiled. "Okay. Talk tomorrow?"

"I'll call you. Stay safe, okay?"

"Okay. You too."

Joan hung up and ran back to Auggie's apartment, soaked to the bone. When she got back, the power was still working, so she took a hot shower and filled Auggie in on her phone call. He smiled.

"Good for you, Joan. But you could have called him here. I promise I wouldn't have eavesdropped."

"Liar," she said with a grin. He laughed. "Yeah."

She leaned into Auggie's chest, feeling a sudden urge to be held. Auggie seemed surprised, but he held her.

"You're my best friend, you know that?," Joan asked softly. He nodded.

"Yes. And you share custody with Annie as mine."

She laughed. "Thanks, Auggie. Hey, I'm going to take a nap. Let me know if something happens."

Auggie nodded again. "Okay. You know, power outages are the worst time to be blind. I can't pass the time by reading with a flashlight. I just have to sit, listen to Mingus, and wait for my iPod to die."

She smiled and tossed him her iPhone as she stood up. "Here, knock yourself out. I only have the Mingus you gave me, but there's Florence + The Machine on there too. Some Frank Sinatra, John Mayer."

He clapped. "Yes! Oh, thank you, you beautiful woman."

Joan ruffled his hair and laughed, then made her way to the bedroom. She had put on her Penn shirt and Auggie's boxers after her shower, as well as an oversized maroon hoodie. The rain was pounding on the roof and windows, so it took her a while to fall asleep.

xxxx

When Joan woke up, the rain had stopped and she could feel Auggie beside her. Her first night at Auggie's she offered to sleep on the couch, and he insisted she share his bed with him. And so every night was a sleepover. They talked about random stuff, laughed like children, and told stories until they both fell asleep.

As much fun as it was to play summer camp with Auggie, she was ready to go home. She missed having her husband in bed next to her. Not that Auggie was a bad bedmate. He didn't snore, or thrash in his sleep. Sometimes Arthur snored. But in a cute way.

Joan looked at the clock, saw it was 10 am, and tapped Auggie on the shoulder. He mumbled something incoherent and rolled over to face her, keeping his eyes closed.

"Is the storm over?"

"Yeah, I think so," Joan said, sitting up in bed. "I'm going to go turn on the news, assess the damage."

Auggie nodded. "Right behind you. If I can get up."

Joan laughed and slid out of bed, slipping her feet into Auggie's slippers that he claimed he didn't actually wear. But she knew he did, just like she knew that the chess game set up in the corner of the living room was Auggie playing against himself. She picked up the remote and clicked the television on, feeling the braille on top of the buttons.

It was all pretty much doom and gloom. Fallen trees, flooded parking lots, power out in large patches of the area, the possibility of brown outs all day. At least 15 deaths from car accidents, and almost triple that in injuries. A 45% chance that the rain would start up again later today.

She picked her phone up off the coffee table while keeping her eyes glued to the tv. She had loads of new text messages, mostly from people in the DPD telling her to stay home. Seth, the head of a department on the same floor as her, sent her a picture of people in sleeping bags in the hallways, with Starbucks cups littered everywhere. From her litany of texts, she was able to gather that at least a few people in each division had made it to work early enough to avoid the storm, and the current plan was for them to stay at Langley and ride out the storm. She didn't have a text from Arthur, which worried her, so she texted Seth and asked if Arthur was among the people sleeping in the building.

She also had a couple texts from Annie; the first was a check-in, and the rest were asking how she and Auggie were doing, because Annie was keeping up with DC news while away. Joan replied to her, telling her not to worry and that everything was fine. Annie's 2 week vacation time was not up, and Joan didn't want her to come home for some silly rainstorm.

"Hey," Auggie came out of the bedroom, pulling a long-sleeve shirt on over his bare chest. His pajama bottoms dragged along the floor. "How bad is it?"

"15 deaths so far, with an estimated triple in injuries. Fallen trees, power out in half the state, and the CIA has turned into a huge refugee center of sorts. Annie checked in from Israel, but I haven't heard from Arthur."

"You will," Auggie said confidently, sensing the tiny bit of fear in Joan's voice. "He's probably sleeping on your office couch."

She nodded. "Right. Hey, do you want to go get some breakfast? If the roads clear up, we might be able to get to Susie's."

Auggie grinned. Their favorite breakfast place was equidistant from Langley, his apartment, and her house. "And I'm guessing that after your favorite pancakes and veggie scramble, you'll want to drop by work."

"If you give a CIA agent some pancakes...," Joan trailed off, grinning. Auggie laughed.

"Okay, but only if you drive."

xxxx

An hour and a half later, they sat in a comfy booth, sipping hot coffee. They were both dressed casually, Joan in jeans, a gray sweater, and boots; and Auggie in a leather jacket and jeans.

"So, Annie is with Eyal.." Joan said, cutting her stack on pancakes into little squares. "How do you feel about that?"

Auggie shrugged noncommittally. "Fine."

"Uh huh," Joan smiled slyly. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Truthfully, I do care about her. Quite a lot, actually. But I'm not in charge of her, and I'm still getting over Parker. I need to heal."

"Just like I have been the last week," Joan said softly. He nodded and took a bite of his waffles.

"Yes. Spending time with a friend really clears you mind a lot more than smashing a bottle over someone's head, doesn't it?"

Joan laughed. "Yes, it does."

The waitress brought their check to the table and Auggie held his hand out.

"I'm paying," he said, that cute boyish smile on his face. Joan held her hands up in defeat.

"Okay," she said. He laughed.

"Atta girl."

They paid and left, putting on their coats and scarves. Joan took Auggie's arm and they walked to the car, the wind whipping their faces.

"So, work?," Auggie asked. He almost sounded sad. Joan was about to respond, but then her phone rang. She squeezed Auggie's arm, then answered.

"Hello? Hey, Seth… what? No, I… I'm with a friend. Yes, I'll be there right away. Thank you."

She clicked her phone off and slipped it into her pocket, feeling short of breath. Auggie sensed that something was wrong.

"Joan?"

"Auggie, we aren't going to work. We need to go to the hospital. Arthur's been hurt."

xxxx

Joan drove as fast as she could, which made Auggie nervous.

"Joan, talk to me. What did Seth say?"

"Arthur tried to leave the Agency last night, and he didn't get far before his car swerved off the road. They didn't find him until this morning, when a few agents were going home. He's stable, but unconscious."

Auggie didn't know how to respond, so he just let her drive.

When they reached the hospital, Joan let Auggie take her forearm before rushing up to the first nurse she saw.

"Hi, I'm here to see my husband. He was in a car accident last night. Arthur Campbell." Her voice was shaky, but she tried to steady it as much as possible. The nurse nodded.

"Let me go see what room he is in."

Joan smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

"Hey, just breathe," Auggie whispered in her ear. "It's going to be okay."

Joan nodded, but she didn't believe it. She should have been there, by his side, not sleeping in another man's bed. A man who was her friend, nothing more, but still.

'This way," the nurse beckoned, leading Auggie and Annie to the elevator. She hit the button for the 5th floor, and when the elevator stopped, she pointed down the hall. "Room 517."

They both thanked her, and Joan squeezed Auggie's hand. "I need to go in alone."

Auggie nodded. "Just lead me to a chair." She obliged, finding one a few rooms down from Arthur's. After he was seated, she slowly stepped into the room.

Joan had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep from gasping. Arthur was lying in a hospital bed, with IVs sticking out of his arms. His face was badly cut and bruised, and a cast had already been put on his left wrist. She could see a bandage poking out of his hospital gown, and was afraid to assess the damage further.

A young nurse came in to check on him, and noticed Joan, frozen a few feet from the bed.

"Are you his wife?"

She blinked back a few tears and nodded. "Yes."

"He was asking for you when we brought him in this morning."

"He was?"

The nurse nodded and smiled kindly. "Yes, he was conscious for a few minutes. Joan, right?"

"Yes," she said. She looked at him sadly. "When will he wake up?"

The nurse looked sympathetic. "Hopefully soon. He was very lucky."

"Do you know what happened?," Joan asked quietly. The nurse nodded, tugging on a lock of her chestnut brown hair.

"From what I've been told, his car was flipped upside down. His seat belt and the airbag prevented him from any severe injuries. As you can see, he has a broken wrist and is a bit banged up, but otherwise, he's pretty strong. There is a rather large gash on his chest most likely from the car window breaking, but it isn't too deep."

"Thank you," Joan said. She looked at Arthur and sighed. "I feel awful."

"Why?," the young woman asked. "It isn't your fault."

Joan took a deep breath and turned to her. "He and I were fighting," she admitted. "I haven't been home all week. I've been staying with a friend."

The nurse nodded. "I know how that feels. While I was in med school, I had a pretty serious boyfriend. He and I used to fight about my work schedule all the time – interning, classes, you name it. Then, one day, I was working in the ER and he was rolled in. Car accident. I sat by his bed from 4 days waiting for him to wake up."

Joan frowned. "And what happened?"

"He woke up, and we had a really good talk about compromising and working together as a team. It actually brought us closer, not that I recommend tragedy and trauma as a strategy to fix a relationship. But it's been 3 years, and we're still together."

Joan smiled. "That's a wonderful story."

"We worked it out. So will you."

They smiled at each other and Joan thanked her. After she left, Joan sat down beside Arthur's bed, took her hand in his, and kissed his cheek.

"I love you," she whispered, allowing a few tears to fall from her eyes. "We'll work this out, okay? You and I are never going to have to say goodbye."

xxxx

Arthur woke up later that night, and Joan took him home. She told him the story of the young nurse she met in the hospital while they lay in bed the next morning.

"So it was a coincidence that my ER nurse went through the same ordeal we did?," Arthur chuckled, scarfing down a bowl of tomato soup. Joan laughed and nodded.

"Yep." She watched him lovingly as he tried to eat his soup with one hand and keep the other hand, which was in a cast, on her pajama-clad leg. When he finished, he set the bowl on the nightstand and kissed Joan's forehead.

"Thanks for the soup," he said. She nodded and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"What is it?," Arthur asked with concern, He could tell something wasn't right.

"I just… I feel awful," Joan whispered, looking up at him. "I was sleeping on Auggie's couch while you were trapped under a car."

Arthur shook his head and took Joan's hands in his hand that was not covered in a stiff black cast. "This was not your fault. We needed some time away from each other, and the storm was just unfortunate timing."

Joan frowned. "But I feel like we always need time apart. We have a bad night at least once a week, and sometimes work gets wedged in between us so much that we go days without talking. We need to make a change, Arthur."

He sighed. "Honey, I agree with you, I do. But how can we without changing our work life?"

Joan bit her lip. "I don't know. All I know is that I'm sick of bending our relationship. Some day, it will snap, and just like that, we'll lose each other. And I can't bear the though of losing you."

"Me neither," he murmured. "We've always been like this, haven't we? Can live without each other, can't work it out."

"But we can change that," Joan said, suddenly full of certainty. 'We have not know how to have a perfect marriage, but I sure as hell I am not going to lose the only person I have loved this deeply because we fight more than we laugh together."

Arthur nodded. "Yeah, we do, don't we?"

"We go through these periods of intense passion and stubborn arguments," Joan said. She looked at him. "You know what? No more." She had a fire in her eyes that Arthur recognized very well. He smiled.

"We fight and argue more than we have sex!," Joan said, laughing at herself. "For god's sake, it's ridiculous. We both need to learn to loosen up and compromise," she said firmly. He laughed.

"I think that I can do that," he said, leaning in to kiss her. "You make a valid point about the sex thing."

She laughed and kissed him back. "I hate to say it, but I don't your wrist cast is going to make this easy."

"Well, I'm up for the challenge if you are," he whispered, working his way down her neck. He hit a sweet spot and Joan moaned with pleasure.

"Mhmm... okay…"

"Act now, think later," he whispered. "We will work this out, I promise."

She nodded and kissed him fiercely, letting them slip into one of those periods of intense passion. Their marriage wasn't perfect, but she honestly wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.


End file.
